Georgijs Osokins has prepared a special program for his performance on Liepāja, with an interesting and unusual compilation of music. The pianist says: ‘In a quest towards new horizons, a new sonorism, a freshness, I will perform piano music by Haydn and Brahms, which I only started playing recently. You will hear Haydn’s brilliant sonata, one of his last, and Brahm’s mystical and romantic Sonata, which is among his early works. The journey of this concert will begin with three beautiful Songs Without Words by Mendelssohn, and the program will culminate in Liszt’s Dante Sonata, which I adore and often perform all over the world.’
The first part of the concert is a wonderful pairing of Mendelssohn and Brahms: both born in Hamburg, both close friends of Robert Schumann, both sharing a similar, classicistic view on art. Georgijs has combined Mendelssohn’s lovely miniatures with Piano Sonata No. 2 by nineteen-year-old Brahms, which was dedicated to Robert Schumann’s wife Clara Schumann and included a theme of a medieval German Minnesang, a love song.
The second part will begin with one of Joseph Haydn’s final piano sonatas, which is famous for its surprising harmonies and structure; followed by Fryderyk Chopin reminiscence of a Paganini concert, which the nineteen-year-old composer attended in Warsaw and which left a monumental impression on the youngster; and the program will be crowned by Ferenc Liszt’s impressive fantasy inspired by Dante’s Inferno.
Georgijs Osokins gained international recognition as a participant at the XVII International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. His interpretations were declared revolutionary and unpredictable. Shortly after the competition, Georgijs made his debuts at the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Ruhr Piano Festival, the Laeiszhalle and Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. He has participated in the International Piano Series in Bern, the Lockenhaus and Gstaad festivals, he has performed at the Katowice Concert Hall, in Japan and South Korea, and he has stepped in for Nelson Freire at the Vancouver Playhouse. In recent years, Georgijs has debuted at Wigmore Hall in London, Sala Verdi in Milan, the Stern Auditorium in Carnegie Hall, the Salzburg Festival, and the Shanghai International Music Festival.
2024 was special with a solo debut at the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin and a tour with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra replacing Rudolf Buchbinder. Georgijs is a regular guest artist with Kremerata Baltica. Georgijs Osokins’ performances are featured on several music records.
Program:
Part I
Felix MENDELSSOHN, from the cycle Lieder ohne Worte
Andante tranquillo (‘Song of the Pilgrim’), Op. 67 No. 3
Andante sostenuto (‘Elegy’), Op. 85 No. 4
Allegro leggiero (‘Lost Illusions’), Op. 67 No. 2
Johannes BRAHMS, Piano Sonata No. 2 in F-sharp minor, Op. 2
Part II Joseph HAYDN, Piano Sonata in E-flat major, Hob. XVI/52
Fryderyk CHOPIN, ‘Souvenir de Paganini’, Op. Posth.
Ferenc LISZT, Après une lecture du Dante: Fantasia quasi Sonata
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